1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to display fixtures used in stores and other environments to display merchandise. More specifically, this invention relates to a display fixture that may be used either as (i) a vertical rack on which merchandise may be displayed, or (ii) table upon which merchandise may be placed.
2. Related Art
A variety of fixtures are used in retail stores to display merchandise to customers. Periodically, store operators will rearrange and reconfigure the store fixtures and the merchandise displayed thereon to entice customers to make purchases.
Many retailers find retail space to be at a premium and also find storage space to be limited. Thus, there is a need for store fixtures that can be reconfigured so they can be used in various ways and thereby eliminate storage issues. An example of such a fixture is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,226,172, granted on Dec. 28, 1965, to J. A. M. Bateman. The Bateman patent discloses a merchandise display fixture adapted to be arranged for use either as a table-top counter or as a gondola. As discussed in Bateman, at times it is desirable to display large quantities of merchandise within easy reach of customers, such as during certain promotional sale periods. A common way to display large quantities of merchandise is to stack them on a tabletop. At other times, it becomes desirable to obtain the maximum efficiency in the presentation of the merchandise so as to attract the attention of the customer by the manner in which the merchandise is displayed. Merchandise can be more attractively displayed and more easily examined by the customer using a gondola style fixture. Thus, Bateman discloses an apparatus that can be converted and used either as a tabletop, gondola, or a combination of a gondola and tabletop. Converting Bateman's apparatus is somewhat complex and not easily or efficiently achieved. This will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art reviewing the drawings of the Bateman patent and seeing the many different parts and assemblies that need to be reconfigured to convert Bateman's apparatus.
At the present time there is a real need for display fixtures that can easily, quickly and efficiently be converted between various configurations and which also can be easily moved about and locked in place, all by a single person and in less than a minute. Likewise, there is a real need for such display fixtures that can be converted without any tools and display fixtures that can be converted without extraneous parts (other than shelves and hooks) that are not permanently attached and, thus, can become separated from the display fixture and lost when not in use.